By Tiernan Ray

Here are some things going on this morning in your world of tech:

Shares of Apple (AAPL) are up $1.36 at $595.14 after a couple of positive notes from the Street this morning. Needham & Co.’s Charlie Wolf reiterates a Buy rating, and a $590 price target, writing that “the surprising strength of iPhone 4S sales in the March quarter challenges the conventional wisdom that Apple has to build a low-end phone to retain share in the smartphone market.”

The 4S added 10 million new owners to iPhone in the quarter, he points out, proving “the iPhone’s brand is so strong, a two-generation-old iPhone despite its premium price holds great appeal,” which “confirms Apple’s ongoing commitment to building the aspirational brand” even at the low end of the market.”

And analysts at Monness Crespit & Hardt today reiterate a Buy rating on Apple stock, and raise their price target to $650 from $605, writing that investors want to be long the name going into the debut of a larger-screen iPhone this year.

Speaking of smartphones, DigiTimes’s Cage Chao and Steve Shenlate yesterday reported that China’s slew of LTE-based smartphones is expected to reach 160 million to 200 million units this year, citing remarks by chip maker MediaTek (2454TW).

Shares of Sony (SNE) are down 84 cents, or almost 5%, at $16.80, after the company this morning reportedfiscal Q4 revenue of ¥1,870 billion, up 8%, and topping consensus of ¥1.761 trillion, but missed on the bottom line, reporting a net loss of ¥132.97 per share, worse than consensus of ¥120.9 per share.

Results were helped by the PlayStation 4, the company said, and by “a significant increase in sales in the Pictures segment.” Operating loss was amplified by write-offs related to Sony’s getting out of the PC business.

For this year, the company projected revenue of ¥7.8 trillion, up just 0.4%, which is above consensus for ¥7.694. The company attributed the outlook to “an increase in sales in the electronics businesses being offset by an expected decrease in PC sales included in All Other related to Sony’s withdrawal from the PC business.”

Shares of 3-D printing name Voxeljet (VJET) are down 59 cents, or 4%, at $13.95, after Cowen & Co.’s Robert Stone reiterated an Outperform rating, but also cut his price target to $30 from $35, writing that the company’s Q1 report tomorrow afternoon will probably be in line with consensus, but that the stock is going through a “valuation reset.”

“The focus may now return to the growth strategy, including geographic expansion and new materials development,” he writes.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is down 14 cents, or 0.7%, at $22.72, as the company rolls toward its fiscal Q3 earnings report this afternoon, after the closing bell. Analysts are modeling $11.36 billion in revenue and 48 cents EPS.

Shares of Autodesk (ADSK) are up 20 cents, or 0.4%, at $48.52, after Canaccord Genuity’s Richard Davis raised his rating on the shares to Buy from Hold, and raised his price target to $60 from $52, based on “company-specific changes” and “what we believe will be a multi-year macro tailwind in commercial construction” that will bring the “stock back to its old nearly $60 highs in fairly short order.” Autodesk is primed to have much more predictable revenue, similar to Adobe’s (ADBE) transformation of late, he thinks.

Shares of Google (GOOGL) are down $1.01 at $540.53, as the company continues to face growing regulatory scrutiny, of which Frances Robinson, Sam Schechner, and Amir Mizroch of The Wall Street Journal give a good summary this morning. Google has been told it must remove links to sites in its search results if individuals request it.

For another perspective, see Tobias Buck of The Financial Times, who has a profile of Mario Costeja González of Spain who brought the suit against Google, even though he describes himself as a “fan” of the service.

In other Google news, Nathan Olivarez-Giles at The Journal writes that Google has thrown open retail sales of Google Glass to the public, saying anyone can buy the device online now, versus the prior limited beta release. This follows a one-day open sale conducted last month. The devices costs $1,500 plus tax.

In case you missed it, Richard Byrne Reilly over at VentureBeathas a nice article on the transformation going on at The Washington Post under the new ownership of Amazon.com (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos, who bought the paper last year. Chief information officer Shailesh Prakash is being flooded with resumes of young computer sci graduates wanting to work in the newly digitizing news room. “Bezos is pumping cash into the once staid company’s IT infrastructure. Lots of it,” writes Reilly. Executive editor Marty Baron “sees technology as the medium’s savior — and Bezos’s new tenure as a way to grow readers digitally,” he writes.

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There are 3 comments

MAY 14, 2014 1:09 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

If Apple is a buy at its current $595 PPS. And his target is $590. When does he want us to sell? Is he saying short it?

MAY 14, 2014 1:56 P.M.

phileasfogg wrote:

about SNE's earnings... " but missed on the bottom line, reporting ¥132.97 per share, worse than consensus of ¥120.9 per share.". Is there a typo here? are the numbers reversed?

MAY 14, 2014 1:59 P.M.

Tiernan Ray wrote:

Phileasfogg: Not a typo, but a serious mis-statement, as the result was a net loss, which was bigger than expected: the sentence should have read "net loss of ¥132.97 per share, worse than consensus of ¥120.9 per share." My apologies for the confusion.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.